The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word THICK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
T
H
I
C
K
More clues leading to the result THICK
- Term for unintelligent bumpkin
- Taunted, circling yokel with little sense
- Well in credit, Henry invested
- Jiffy bags hard and heavy
- Intimate Henry’s come in second
- Tough — as a jumbo, perhaps?
- Packed hotel welcomes credit? On the contrary
- Sign of approval about hospital being very friendly
- Pushing hard into second, struggling to get to Cambridge?
- Friendly but stupid?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Tough" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case tough = thick.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does THICK mean?
THICK noun- The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.
- A thicket.
- A stupid person; a fool.
- To thicken.
- Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
- Measuring a certain number of units in this dimension.
- Heavy in build; thickset.
- Densely crowded or packed.
- Having a viscous consistency.
- Abounding in number.
- Impenetrable to sight.
- (Of an accent) Prominent, strong.
- Stupid.
- Friendly or intimate.
- Deep, intense, or profound.
- Troublesome; unreasonable
- (chiefly of women) Curvy and voluptuous, and especially having large hips.
- In a thick manner.
- Frequently or numerously.